


Cursed

by Zylo



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Hanahaki Disease, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, sympathetic deceit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-06-28 17:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15711504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zylo/pseuds/Zylo
Summary: A chance encounter with the Dragon Witch leads to trouble.





	1. Cursed

_"You think you've escaped from me? Well think again!" The Dragon Witch cackled as she cast a spell - no - a curse. As he was hit with the curse, he felt pain surging through his chest before everything went dark._

  
_"Andy!"_

  
Andy jolted awake and started struggling the minute he felt hands on his shoulders. "Get away from me!" He growled out in a panic, unaware of where he was at the moment.

  
"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, it's me! Teal!"

  
At hearing that name, Andy stopped struggling and looked over, a frantic look in his eyes. " _Teal?_ "

  
Teal nodded his head quickly, "Yeah. Just focus on me alright?" Several minutes passed before Andy finally started to calm down. With his permission, Teal wrapped his arms around Andy and pulled the other figment into a hug.

  
"...What happened after I passed out?" Andy asked, pulling back from the hug to look at his " _brother_ ".

  
"That witch escaped unfortunately," Teal muttered. "We saw her cast that curse. Do you feel any different in any way?"

  
Andy shook his head, "Other than a hell of a lot of pain when it hit me? No, nothing feels off."

* * *

  
' _Of course I had to be fucking wrong about that!_ ' Andy thought to himself, grabbing his chest. He was leaned over the bathroom sink, blood and- " _Petals_?" A coughing fit interrupted him as more blood dripped from his mouth.

  
A knocking was then heard at the door, "Kiddo, are you okay?"

  
' _Patton_.' Wiping the blood off of his face, he spoke through the door. "Yeah Pat, I'm fine. Just a minor coughing fit." Shaking his head, Andy could practically feel the look of concern on the other side of the door. Should he be lying about something like this? No. Was Deceit around to call him out on it though? Also no. ' _Thankfully_.'

  
"Well... if you're sure kiddo...there's cough syrup in the medicine cabinet."

  
"Alright, I found it." Another lie. ' _Well, I'm just on a roll, ain't I?_ ' Andy thought to himself, listening as Patton walked away. Once he was sure he was safe, the figment wiped the blood off of the flower petals and shoved them into his hoodie pockets. Carefully, he retreated to his bedroom.

  
Sitting down on his bed, he took out the petals. Staring down at them, he noticed that they were two different colors; purple and yellow. "Alright, what the hell is-?" Andy stopped mid sentence, a thought flashing through his mind. He swore that he read a story about coughing up petals or something. Grabbing his phone, he went to Google and after some minutes of searching, he found what he hoped was an answer to his predicament.

  
"Hanahaki disease...?"

  
After an hour of researching, Andy layed back in his bed. From what he gathered, this disease was supposed to be fictional. "Supposed to be," he muttered, glaring over at his phone. "Fucking witch bitch." In addition to being fictional, this thing was supposed to be cured through the sufferer's romantic feelings being returned. There was also a way to surgically remove the flowers at the cost of said sufferer's romantic feelings. Even if that part was possible, he already decided that he's never go with that option.

  
That left him with one other option- " _Death_. Of course that would be the end result," Andy muttered, shoving one of his pillows over his face. "Let's see - I either die due to this disease quietly or I die after being rejected by the two people I love. What _fantastic_ choices," he said sarcastically, a bitterness laced in his voice.

  
" _So this is how my life is gonna end. Not with a bang, but with a whimper_. _Fuck_."


	2. Concern

Andy groaned as he woke up and glanced at his phone. ' _8 PM? I'm surprised Pat and Dayd actually let me sleep through dinner._ '

  
"You're _not_ awake."

  
The figment nearly jumped from the sudden voice. Looking over at his desk, he saw Deceit sitting in the chair and Virgil perched up on said desk. Deceit snickered as Virgil lightly shoved him. "I told you not to startle him, Dee."

  
"It _wasn't_ too good an opportunity to pass up," Deceit smirked in response.

  
Andy scowled, rolling his eyes at both of them. ' _I'm not allowed a moment's peace today unless it involves sleeping apparently._ ' "Is there a particular reason you're in my room?"

  
"Everyone was worrying about you so Dee and I volunteered to make sure you were alright," Virgil said, his own voice tinged with concern.

  
He shook his head, "I'm fine, just tired."

  
Dee shot a concerned look at Virgil, one that let other side know that he detected a lie. Quietly, he spoke up, "That's _not_ a lie."

  
Andy rolled his eyes and got up from his bed, "Whatever. I-" He was caught off guard by another coughing fit. Quickly, he put his hand up to his mouth to cover it. However, the other two caught sight of red on his hand.

  
" _Andy?!_ " Both of them yelled, startled.

  
"I-" More coughing. "I'm _fine_!" He yelled stubbornly in between coughs.

  
"Dee, go get one of the others!" Virgil shouted.

  
" _No!_ " Andy responded in an angry panic. "Both of you! Out! _Now!_ "

  
Both of the sides hesitated before Deceit whispered something to Virgil. What it was, Andy wasn't paying attention. He just knew that in the next few moments, they were both gone. Scrambling over to his bedroom door, he closed and locked it before sliding down to the floor. Looking down at his blood-covered hands, he stared at the petals. Clenching his fists, he let out a frustrated yell, wrapping his arms around his knees and burying his face in them.

  
' _Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!_ '

* * *

  
He didn't know how much time had passed before he heard someone knocking on the door. Forcing himself up on shaky legs, he shoved the now dry petals into his jeans pockets. Unlocking the door, he opened it slightly, peaking out through the crack.

  
' _Teal and Logan_.'

  
" _What?_ " He asked, a bit gruffer than he intended.

  
"Virgil and Deceit requested that we check up on you immediately," Logan stated. "If you would open the door, we wish to see for ourselves what is wrong."

  
After a moment of contemplating, Andy opened the door just enough for them to enter. He noted that Teal was carrying a medical kit while Logan had a clipboard in hand. "What exactly did they tell you?"

  
Teal looked at him, worry clear as day on his face, "They said you started coughing really badly."

  
"Specifically," Logan added, "they believe that they saw you coughing up blood. Sit down please."

  
Andy carefully sat down on the chair by his desk and crossed his arms, "I'm gonna tell you exactly what I told them - I'm _fine_."

* * *

  
"Are you sure you're alright, kiddos?" Patton asked, looking at Virgil and Deceit. The three were sitting at the dinner table while Dayd was making them some tea. Both had been shaken up by what they saw earlier.

  
Virgil was the first to answer, nodding his head slightly, "Yeah papa, I think so."

  
"We're _not_ more worried about Andy than we are about ourselves," Deceit added.

  
Dayd walked in and placed two mugs down on the table. "Here, this will help calm you both down," he said, looking at Virgil and Deceit. "Speaking of calm, I'm sure Andy will be fine after Teal and Logan check up on him."

  
Deceit took a few sips of tea from his mug while Virgil cast a worried look at Dayd, "How can you be so sure, dad?"

  
"Simple - it's because he's stubborn," Dayd said, sitting in the chair next to Patton. "I could tell you plenty of stories of the things he's pulled off just because of that."


	3. Get Out Alive

"What in the world?!" _Teal._

  
"That...that defies all known science..." _Logan._

  
Andy groaned and leaned over his desk, putting his head in his hands. He had very reluctantly shown them the bloodied flower petals after Logan said that his breathing sounded off in his chest. ' _Where did he even get a stethoscope?_ ' "That's because it's not real science. It's the Dragon Witch's bullshit magic! Seriously, how does she of all people even know what Hanahaki disease is?!"

  
The other two glanced at each other, confusion evident on their faces. " _Hana...haki_?" Teal asked, raising an eyebrow.

  
In that moment, Andy felt his blood run cold. ' _Shit!_ ' He hadn't meant to let that slip; he just wanted to deal with this alone...somehow. Quickly, he blurted out an answer. "Go Google it or something! Now, could you two _please_ get out of my room?"

  
"But-" Logan was cut off by Andy.

  
" _Now._ " Andy's tone held no room for argument at the moment and Teal reluctantly dragged Logan out of the room. However, unbeknownst to Andy, his brother swiped some of the petals on the way out.  
Andy got up from his desk chair, shoving it out of the way. He once more locked his bedroom door before heading over to his bed. Flopping down, he felt the feeling of nausea creeping up on him. With a groan, he grabbed his mp3 player from the bedside table and put on his headphones. Glancing down tiredly, he noted that the song was " _Get Out Alive_ " by " _Three Days Grace_ "; one of his favorites. He closed his eyes as the lyrics began.

  
" _No time for goodbye, he said, as he faded away. Don't put your life in someone's hands, they're bound to steal it away_."

  
' _Ain't that the damn truth..._ ' He thought bitterly, putting his pillow over his head in frustration.

  
" _Don't hide your mistakes, cause they'll find you, burn you. Then he said, if you want to get out alive, run for your life. If you want to get out alive, run for your life._ "

  
"Hindsight is a bitch," Andy muttered into the pillow. He began to drift in and out of drowsiness as the song continued on.

  
" _This is my last time, she said, as she faded away. It's hard to imagine, but one day you'll end up like me_."

  
Quietly, he began singing along to the song, trying to stay awake for a bit longer, " _Then she said, if you want to get out alive, run for your life. If you want to get out alive, run for your life._ " However, he had to stop as another coughing fit came over him. Sitting up, he felt the painful feeling as more petals and blood covered his hands, the song continuing to fill his ears. " _If you want to get out alive (if you want to get out alive), run for your life (life). If you want to get out alive (if you want to get out alive), run for your life._ "

  
" _If I stay, it won't be long, till I'm burning on the inside._ " As the coughing died down, Andy couldn't help the dry remark towards the song. "Already happening here." Staring down at the blood, he angrily wiped it on his shirt. ' _Not like it matters, can't fucking see it at first glance anyway._ '

  
" _If I go, I can only hope, that I make it to the other side. If you want to get out alive, run for your life. If you want to get out alive, hold on for your life._ " "I'm screwed...I'm screwed and this is all that witch's fault." Something seemed to click in his head at that moment. "This is her fault. I need to find her...find her and force her to reverse this fucking curse!"

  
" _If you want to get out alive (if you want to get out alive), run for your life. If you want to get out alive (if you want to get out alive), hold on for your life._ " As the music began to draw near a close, Andy forced himself out of bed. Stalking over to his closet, he pulled out a book bag.

  
" _If I stay, it won't be long, till I'm burning on the inside. If I go, I can only hope that I make it to the other side. If I stay, it won't be long, till I'm burning on the inside. If I go, if I go..._ "

  
Quickly, Andy shoved what he needed into the bag. Among the things were some water bottles and Gatorade he had laying around, some bags of snacks, a flashlight, and some medical supplies that Teal and Logan had left behind when they hurried out of his room.

  
" _Burning on the inside. Burning on the inside. Burning on the inside..._ "

  
Shoving his phone, mp3 player, and a switchblade into his jeans pockets, he grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Quietly, he opened the window in his bedroom and carefully climbed out. Despite his better judgement, he scaled down the side of the house and once his feet touched ground, he took off running into the darkness.


	4. Back At Home...

Virgil was worried, okay no, that was an understatement. He was terrified because of Andy. Something was seriously wrong with his friend and he had no idea how to help. Usually, it was the other way around with the two; Virgil would be the one freaking out and Andy would always be the one that helped him when Deceit or Patton couldn't. This just served to set him even more on edge at the moment.

  
" _Virge?_ "

  
Virgil looked up from the desk where he was perched and met Deceit's gaze. After talking with Patton and Dayd, the two had retreated to the lying side's room for the time being. Hesitantly, he managed to get out a single word, "Dee?"

  
Without another word, Deceit opened his arms and in moments, Virgil was clinging to him. Carefully maneuvering them so they were both sitting on his bed, Deceit began to rub Virgil's back. He too was worried about Andy but right now, he had to push his own thoughts aside for Virgil's sake. Forcing his lying habit back for now, he spoke softly to his boyfriend. "Everything will be alright Vee; if anyone can help Andy right now, it's Logan and Teal."

  
"But what if they can't?!" Virgil yelled, his voice muffled due to having buried his face into Deceit's shoulder. "He was coughing up blood! He could be dying for all we know!"

  
"Virge, I understand that you're worried; I am too. We just...we have to be confident that things only look worse than they actually are," Deceit offered, hoping his words would offer some kind of comfort. "Andy is strong, and like Dayd said, stubborn."

* * *

  
Logan was writing notes down on a clipboard while Teal was listing off what he found from Google. "Could you repeat that last thing?"

  
Teal nodded, his face looking grim, "It says that if this " _Hanahaki_ " disease isn't cured, whether through surgery or through the snuffer's romantic feelings being reciprocated, then then the afflicted person...will _die_."

  
Logan shook his head in disbelief, muttering something about feelings being even more trouble than he thought.  Teal, however, shushed him and took the clipboard from his hands. "What are you-?" The logical side looked a bit annoyed as he was cut off.

  
"We need to tell the others about this," Teal stated. "...Maybe not Virgil and Deceit right away...especially not the whole " _dying_ " part...but we definitely need to tell the others!"

  
"In that case, we can't tell Patton yet either. He would become hysterical at the mere idea of that," Logan replied, scowling. "Since this issue was brought on by the Dragon Witch, we should go talk to Roman and Pryce before approaching any of the others with this information."

* * *

  
Upon hearing knocking on his bedroom door, Roman opened it to the sight of Logan and Teal standing there. "Ah, Specs, Teal, good to see you. Is everything okay with Andy?"

  
The two shared a worried glance with each other before Logan answered, "Unfortunately no. We-"

  
"I knew I should have slayed that Dragon Witch when I had the chance!" Roman shouted, his sword now in hand. "Next time I see that vile fiend I'll-!"

  
"Damn gurl! Put that thing away before ya kill one of us instead!" The two looked past Roman and saw Remy sitting on a chair, ever-present Starbucks in one hand and his phone in the other.

  
"Yeah seriously, Ro," Pryce muttered, crossing his arms. "I want to kill that witch too but calm down."

  
Roman huffed but did as they said, putting his sword away. He then gestured for Logan and Teal to come into his room. "What's going on with Andy?"

* * *

  
"How are they?" Dayd asked as he walked down the hall.

  
Patton stepped out of Deceit's room, closing the door behind him. He gave Dayd a worried look, "They're both asleep right now. ...Virgil was more upset than he let on earlier."

  
Dayd sighed and put his arm around Patton's shoulders. "Things'll be alright. Come on, let's go check on Andy." Patton nodded and walked further down the hall. Knocking on Andy's bedroom door, he called out gently, "Andy? Kiddo? Are you alright?" After waiting a few minutes without an answer, Patton tried calling to him once more, only to receive no answer.

  
"He probably went back to sleep," Dayd said. Seeing the worried expression from Patton, Dayd relented quickly, "...But to put your mind at ease, go ahead and sink into his room. If he complains then just say that I insisted on it."

  
Patton nodded, "Alright, I'll be right back."


	5. Gone

_"Andy's gone!"_

  
Andy trudged through the dark forests of the Imagination, unaware of the panic that was spreading through the others back at home. He stopped every once in a while, coughing up more blood and petals. Grumbling to himself, he eventually took a break, his body screaming at him due to the extra stress he was going through physically and mentally.

  
Sitting down against a tree, he pulled one of the Gatorade bottles out of his book bag. As he began to drink, he checked his phone and noticed several message notifications. "Fuck," he muttered to himself. He had at least one message from each of the others, several in particular from Virgil, Teal, and Remy.

  
_'Gurl where you at?'_

  
_'for real the others are freaking out'_

  
_'I swear if I have to go find you myself'_

  
Andy proceeded to roll his eyes at the texts from Remy, most of them containing variations of asking where he was. "I'll get back to him after I check the rest..." The next messages were from Virgil. Reading through them, he could tell that the side was panicking while typing and felt a pang of guilt hit him. "I'll apologize after this is taken care of..." Finally, he checked the messages from Teal. Even Teal's texts had an underlying feeling of worry seeping through the words.

  
Shaking his head, Andy pulled up the messages from Remy again. Quickly, he typed out a few words before tapping send.

  
_'I'm going to fix this.'_

* * *

  
Back at home, the others were getting ready to set out to find Andy. Teal and Logan had gathered everyone in the commons and explained what had transpired since they checked up on him initially. The minute Logan mentioned the term ' _Hanahaki disease_ ' Roman cursed the Dragon Witch angrily.

  
"What...what is that?" Patton had asked worriedly.

  
"It's a vile curse that turns one's romantic love against themselves!" Roman yelled angrily, pacing around the room. "That foul witch shall pay for this!"

  
The others watched briefly as Pryce and Dayd tried to get Roman to calm down the minute he started to reach for his sword. Shouts of " _Put the sword away!_ " and " _You're gonna accidentally stab someone!_ " rang out in the background as their attention focused back on Logan. "...As I was saying," Logan began, "from the information Teal and I gathered, Hanahaki is supposed to be a fictional disease. The cause of it is when the sufferer has unrequited feelings of the romantic sense. True to the fictional aspect of it, the sufferer will begin to cough up blood and flower petals."

  
The others stared in disbelief at what they just heard. The fact that this is what the Dragon Witch's spell did and the fact that Andy was who knows where in, presumably, the Imagination, suffering from this...it felt like a weight was dropped on all of them. "...What _doesn't_ happen if it's not cured?" Deceit asked hesitantly.

  
"Can it even be cured? And what's with the petals?" Virgil added, looking more worried by the second.

  
"According to the stories, the two cures for Hanahaki are either surgery or the sufferer has their feelings requited," Teal said. "Surgery would cure it but it would also remove the person's romantic feelings that caused the whole thing."

  
"As for the petals," Logan said, looking down at the notes on his clipboard, "the color of them is supposed to represent the person or people that the sufferer is in love with."

  
"Talk about one hell of a mess," Remy remarked, checking his phone to see if Andy sent him any more texts. So far, there's been nothing. "So what happens if this thing ain't taken care of?"

  
"...If it's not cured...then eventually the disease will kill the sufferer," Teal said quietly. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room after he said that.

  
" _What?!_ " Virgil yelled in disbelief.

  
"Virge, kiddo..." Patton put his hands on Virgil's shoulders, only for the emo to shrug them off.

  
"You're telling us that Andy is _alone_ in the Imagination, searching for a fucking dragon witch, all the while he's basically _dying_?!" Virgil demanded to know, his anxiety spiking.

  
Before either Teal or Logan could reply, a voice interrupted them. "Guys, what is going on?!" They all turned and looked at the person standing in the doorway.

  
" _Thomas!_ "

* * *

  
After some time, Andy forced himself to get up and continue on his way. He swore to himself that he'd find that witch even if it killed him. "Ha, go figure," Andy muttered, the dark humor of what he just thought hitting him. As he continued, he began to try thinking of literally anything other than his current predicament.

  
However, his body had other plans as another painful coughing fit overtook him. Spitting out blood and petals, Andy groaned in frustration and anger. "I can do this, I need to do this," he spoke, repeating the words to himself as encouragement. Eventually, his thoughts turned to the two that were inadvertently apart of this mess, Virgil and Deceit.

  
He had sworn to himself the day that he met them that he would protect them no matter what. At the time, he couldn't think of why he decided on that. The feeling, the need to keep them safe, it just hit him out of nowhere. Part of that is why he ended up in this predicament in the first place. The dragon witch that cursed him had originally ambushed Virgil and Deceit in a plot to draw Roman into a battle with her. What she wasn't expecting was Andy beating him to it.

  
"Worth it. If she cursed me with _this_ , then who knows what she would have done to _him_ ," Andy said to himself. "Besides, no one messes with any of my family while I'm around."


	6. Home

_'Fuck this! I don't want to die here!'_

  
Andy was on his hands and knees, coughing up more blood and petals. Around him was nothing but endless darkness, the only light being emitted from his phone. He felt like he was freezing and overheating at the same time and the feeling of dizziness flooded over him. As he desperately gasped for breath, he was only vaguely aware of what sounded like footsteps in the distance.

  
_'I don't want to die alone!'_

  
The footsteps grew closer and closer as someone shouted his name. Soon enough someone was kneeling next to him and talking to him. However, all the words sounded like nothing more than muffled gibberish to him. Then whoever was there with him put their hands on his shoulders and panic shot through him. He desperately tried to scramble away, only to end up collapsing after a few steps. The last thing he remembered was more shouting and then his mind and vision going black.

  
_'I want to go home...'_

* * *

  
Deceit sat in his room, staring down at the flower petals on his desk. After they had finally found Andy, the figment had passed out in a panic. In turn, that sent Virgil, and thus Thomas, into their own further panicked states. At the thought of his boyfriend, Deceit looked over at his bed. Virgil was asleep, gripping one of Deceit's stuffed snakes as if it was a lifeline. Looking back at the flower petals, he frowned as he noted the colors, purple; _Virgil_ , and yellow; _himself_.

  
The lying side shoved his fingers into his hair as he rested his elbows on the desk. He and Virgil had been talking about Andy for a while, well before this mess took place. Over time, the two had come to develop feelings for the figment but they were having trouble with approaching him about it.  Both were too worried about making things awkward because they had no idea if Andy even had any interest in either of them.

  
"And look where that decision _hasn't_ brought us," Deceit muttered to himself. Sighing, he got up and walked over to his bed. Gently running his fingers through Virgil's hair, he watched as his boyfriend began to wake up. As soon as the anxious side started to realize where he was, he bolted up in bed, eyes wide as panic started to overtake him again.

  
"Where's Andy?!" Virgil demanded to know. Quickly, Deceit had his arms wrapped around the other side, rubbing his back to calm him before Virgil could be overcome by his own thoughts again.

  
"Shh, calm down Virge," Deceit whispered. "Andy is still in his room. Thomas _hasn't_ been keeping an eye on him for about an hour now."

  
"...I want to see him," Virgil said quietly. "I _need_ to see him."

  
"We both do," Deceit responded. He then gestured over towards his desk, "There's something you _don't_ need to see first..."

* * *

  
Andy awoke suddenly, startling Thomas a bit. He got up from the bean bag he was sitting on and quickly handed the figment some tissues once he started coughing again. Thomas winced as a particularly harsh cough ripped forth from Andy's throat. Grabbing the trash can from a corner of the room, he held it out, looking away as Andy threw out the bloody tissues and petals.

  
Thomas watched as Andy groaned and flopped back down against his pillows. He looked paler than normal and he was breathing heavily. Reluctantly, Thomas spoke up, "Andy?"

  
"Thomas?" Andy winced in pain after saying that, his voice raspy and raw. Sluggishly, he looked around and realized he was back in his room. "H-how'd I get here?"

  
"We ah...we found you in the forests of the Imagination," Thomas said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Probably about a half-hour away from the Dragon Witch's place? At least according to Roman and Pryce..." An uncomfortable silence filled the air as both remained quiet.

  
Eventually, Andy had enough of it and spoke, despite the pain it caused him. "It's that damn witch's fault."

  
Thomas looked over at him, "...Yeah, about that - Logan said that you were sick and then Roman started yelling about the Dragon Witch. It was kind of hectic up until we entered the Imagination so I want to know, from _you_ , what happened?"

  
Andy grunted in pain as he sat up, "The witch in question - this mess started because she wanted to fight Roman. So she ambushed Virgil and Deceit to lure him to her..." He stopped as another coughing fit overtook him. Once it was finally over, Thomas had a concerned look on his face.

  
"Should I go get Teal or-" Thomas stopped by Andy shaking his head no.

  
"I'm...I'm fine now," Andy grumbled as he threw away the bloodied tissues.

  
Thomas didn't look convinced one bit but decided not to push the issue at the moment. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally upset the figment when he should be resting. "So...the Dragon Witch...you got in her way?"

  
Andy found himself smirking a bit, "You know me so well... That's how I got cursed with this bullshit Hanahaki disease."

  
"And you weren't thinking clearly so you jumped out of your bedroom window and ran off into the night?" Thomas asked incredulously.

  
"I climbed down but otherwise, yeah," Andy corrected him. "I was desperate and figured that if I was going to die anyway then it wouldn't hurt to try and force her to undo the curse."

  
"That is the _stupidest_ idea I've ever heard." The two looked over at the doorway and saw Virgil standing there, his arms crossed. Deceit was standing behind him, looking over Virgil's shoulder. Andy tensed upon seeing the two sides but did his best to keep a neutral expression on his face.

  
"Thomas, could we _not_ speak to Andy alone?" Deceit asked, following Virgil into the room. Thomas nodded his head as he headed towards the door.

  
"I'll be back out in the real world, okay guys?" Thomas asked. When they answered " _yes_ ", Thomas closed the door.

  
After they were sure that Thomas was gone, Virgil stalked over to the side of Andy's bed and grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt. Andy's eyes widened in a mixture of concern and fear. " _Virge_ -" Deceit began to speak but quickly shut his mouth the minute Virgil pulled Andy forward, kissing the figment as hard as he could. When Virgil pulled back, Andy had a dazed and confused look on his face.

  
"You stubborn hothead," Virgil muttered, resting his forehead against the figment's, staring him in the eyes. "Do you have any idea how fucking _worried_ we all were?"

  
"I...uh..." Andy couldn't believe what had just happened. ' _No way. There's no possible way..._ ' When Virgil motioned for Deceit to come over to them, his thoughts were short circuited once more as the lying side kissed him just as hard. Once Deceit pulled back from him, Andy felt a surge of pain in his chest, causing him to claw at his own shirt desperately.

  
The two sides were taken aback as a white glow began to emanate from his chest, over his heart. "Andy?!" Virgil shouted, reaching out to hold the figment. However, Deceit held him back.

  
"Virge, look..." Deceit whispered, staring directly at Andy.

  
Thinking fast, Andy grabbed a handful of tissues and with one painful cough, blood and petals were forced out. After that, he crumbled up the tissues and touched his chest in shock as the glow died down. The pain was gone, the persistent coughing feeling was gone as well. Color began to return to his body, no longer did he look sickly pale. With it, the sense of dread that overcame his mind fled.

  
"Andy?" Virgil asked, eyes wide with shock.

  
" _Didn't_ it...?" Deceit trailed off, stunned by what they just witnessed.

  
"I..." Andy felt relief wash over him as he grinned, "I'm cured...? I'm cured!"

  
Once they comprehended what Andy said, the two sides glanced at each other. They knew that they would have a lot to talk about with Andy later on but for now, they just wanted to focus on the moment. The next thing Andy knew, the two had tackled him into a hug and were readjusting themselves so they lied on either side of him. As the two wrapped their arms around him, Andy felt his exhausted body drifting back off to sleep, surrounded by their warmth and love.

  
' _I could get used to this._ '

* * *

 

  
Once Andy was fully feeling better, the family had gathered around for a discussion. Andy admitted that what he did was, in his own words, " _really fucking stupid_ ".

  
"Although it was definitely unpleasant for all of us with you being sick, the information gathered about the disease is useful," Logan offered.

  
Teal merely shook his head and nudged the logical side, "Yeah, let's just hope nothing like this ever happens again though."

  
"Highly doubtful that it will," Pryce remarked. Roman nodded his head and went on about how the two would still make sure to find and slay the witch.

  
"Not again," Dayd said, giving a stern look to Roman the minute the prince reached for his sword. Said prince merely huffed in response while Remy and Virgil snickered at him.

  
"Just be careful when you do go after her, okay kiddos?" Patton asked, unconsciously snuggling close to Dayd when no one seemed to be looking.

  
"Of course, Padre! When are we ever not careful?" Roman responded confidently.

  
"Are you sure you want an answer to that?" Virgil snarked, earning a laugh from Deceit, Remy, and Andy, and an offended look from Roman. The rest of that day was spent together as a family.

  
As for the ultimate fate of the Dragon Witch?

  
That's a tale for another time.


End file.
